In this weeks WebCast, we will cover the difference between the reference and using directives, and the new []reference and []using system functions. Also, you will see the new Using statement, and some APL customizations in VS.

Using overloads

In .Net, the way you reference code in other assemblies from your own is by either using the â€œReferencesâ€œ node in your projects in Visual Studio, or by referencing them directly in your code by the use of a reference directive.

Directives are used by the parser when building your code into a .Net assembly. As of RC 5.0, Visual APL introduces two new system functions ([]reference and []using) which allow you to postpone the referencing and using of assemblies and namespaces until runtime, making it possible to consume DLL's or EXE's which do not (or even cannot) exist on your computer when you build your Visual APL application.

Using statement

The using statement is a new construct available in the soon to be released RC 5.1 of Visual APL. The construct allows you to create a code block, similar in syntax to the IF statement, which automatically erases a specified list of variables when the using statement completes. The erasure process performed is not just a simple []ex on the variables, but is instead a customizable and standard .Net methodology for ensuring that a set of variables will be disposed after a block of code is run.

Keyboard Customization

Through standard Visual Studio option windows, Visual APL gives you full editing capabilities over the keyboard shortcuts associated with the many APL symbols. This control allows you to modify, remove, or add keyboard shortcuts to the various APL symbols you can type in Visual APL code windows.